Ninjago: Age of the Golden Master
Ninjago: Age of the Golden Master is an upcoming live-action LEGO film featuring the LEGO Ninjago characters. The film will be written, directed, filmed and edited by Scott Pincus and distributed by Bio-Builder Productions. It is the second sequel to the 2014 film Ninjago and the sequel to ''Ninjago: Rise of the Great Devourer''; it is also set to be the final installment in the series. Set two years after the second film, Pythor has formed an alliance of villains and seeks to fulfill the prophecy of the Golden Master, which forces the Ninja and their allies into dangerous conflict to save Ninjago from an age of destruction. For a while, progress on the film was slow due to the production of Creepy Guy 4. Most of the second film's cast will return; major newcomers include Joe Newman, Rob O'Dwyer, YamatoGuru and Matt Howell, as well as JobbytheHong and Brent Miller, who voices Zane in the TV show. The film is set to be Jack Morris's last time starring as Cole Hence, the series' main protagonist. The film will draw elements from four seasons of the TV show - Rebooted, Tournament of Elements, Possession and Skybound. Filming for the project is over halfway complete. The film is set to start airing in 2018; an exact release date has yet to be determined. Plot Two years after the second film, Pythor (1P Entertainment) has formed an alliance of villains, and seeks to build a terrible weapon for an all-powerful being - the Golden Master. The Ninja and their trusted allies are thrust into a dangerous conflict, and must fight across Ninjago to save the city from an age of destruction. Cast Cast members with an * next to their name switched their username following the release of the second film. Returning Cast *'Jack Morris' voices Cole Hence, the Elemental Master and Ninja of Earth. As confirmed in March 2018, this will be Jack's last time voicing the character due to personal changes in his life. He has starred in all three installments of the series. *'AckarProductions5' voices Sensei Wu, a son of the First Spinjitzu Master, brother of Garmadon, nephew of Lloyd, and teacher of the Ninja. *'Matt Howell' voices Kai Fellows, the Elemental Master and Ninja of Fire, and the brother of Nya. Kai was voiced by Ryan Bowman in the first two films, but he was dropped from the cast in February 2017. Matt Howell took over the role that April. *'Westificationful' voices Zane Julien, the Elemental Master and Ninja of Ice. *'OonieandCacola' voices Jay Walker, the Elemental Master and Ninja of Lightning. *'JTH Studios' voices Lloyd Garmadon, the Golden Ninja who defeated The Overlord, as well as Garmadon's son. *'1P Entertainment*' voices Garmadon, a son of the First Spinjitzu Master, brother of Wu and the father of Lloyd. *'Luna Fett' voices Nya/Samurai X, the brother of Kai and a loyal ally of the Ninja. Luna Fett was recast in the role of Nya after Abby Pincus, who voiced her in the second film, was dropped from the role. *'FireStar97Studios' voices Ben Delmar, Ninjago's police commissioner and the leader of the city's united police and military forces. *'Daniel Poulter' voices Lucas, a police officer and Delmar's lieutenant, who debuted in the second film. *Dareth, a loyal ally of the Ninja who assists them in their operations. Collector1100, who voiced Dareth in the first two films, resigned from the role in January 2018 and is set to be recast. *'Cameron Morris' voices Anthony Reese, the corrupt mayor of Ninjago City. *'Cillian Fincher', a loyal member of Reese's government. Russell Parkinson, who voiced Fincher in the first two films, was set to reprise the role, but his character's dialogue was cut during rewrites. *'Bio21*' voices Samuel Mercer, a politician associated with Anthony Reese, who debuted in the second film. *'1P Entertainment*' voices The Overlord, the dark lord who created the Great Devourer and manipulated Garmadon. He made his debut as a major antagonist in the second film and will be a major antagonist in this film as well. Originally, Rob O'Dwyer, who debuts as Chen in the film, was set to take over as the character, but 1P Entertainment was brought back to create a sense of continuity between the roles. *'JTH Studios' voices Captain Soto, the leader of a crew of pirates and the former captain of Destiny's Bounty. Over the years, Soto resorted to vigilantism as he terrorized the citizens of Ninjago. The soldiers led by Vladimir Dubrovky in the first two films will return. Vladimir will not return due to being cut from the film after Ryan Bowman's expulsion. Bio21 was formerly known as Biopower 1000, as he was credited in the second film. 1P Entertainment was formerly known as 1tjmac12, as he was credited in the second film. Serpentine *'1P Entertainment*' voices Pythor, the last living Anacondrai whose skin was bleached white by the Great Devourer. He was a major antagonist in the second film and will play a similar role in this film. *'FireStar97Studios' voices Fangtom, the two-headed leader of the Fangpyre Tribe, who served as a supporting antagonist in the first two films. *Fangdam, the brother of Fangtom who is unable to speak, who was an antagonist in the first two films. *'Bio21*' voices Acidicus, the general of the Venomari Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *'TheOnlyVie* '''voices Lizaru, the warrior of the Venomari Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *'TheOnlyVie*''' voices Spitta, a soldier of the Venomari Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *'GarnettFox' voices Skalidor, the general of the Constrictai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *'TheOnlyVie*' voices Bytar, the warrior of the Constrictai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *'Westificationful' voices Chokun, the soldier of the Constrictai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *'Daniel Poulter' voices Snike, the scout of the Constrictai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the second film. *Slithraa, the warrior of the Hypnobrai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the first two films. He will not have a voice actor in the film. *'JTH Studios' voices Mezmo, the soldier of the Hypnobrai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the first two films. *Rattla, the scout of the Hypnobrai Tribe, who was an antagonist in the first two films. OonieandCacola was set to reprise the role, but the character wasn't given any lines in the film. Skales, Fang-Suei, Snappa and Lasha are expected to appear at some point, as confirmed by the film's teaser trailer, despite them having died in the first and second films. They will likely appear via flashback scenes. New Cast Anacondrai Cultists *'Rob O'Dwyer' voices Master Chen, the leader of a criminal empire that worships the Anacondrai. *'Joe Newman' voices Clouse, a master of dark arts who serves Master Chen; he also has an age-old rivalry with Garmadon. *'Westificationful' voices Eyezor, one of Master Chen's top generals who has a distinct mohawk. *'Joe Newman' voices Zugu, one of Master Chen's top generals who is very strong. *'JobbytheHong' voices Kapau, one of Master Chen's Anacondrai Cultists, who is good friends with Chope. *'JobbytheHong' voices Chope, one of Master Chen's Anacondrai Cultists, who is good friends with Kapau. Ghost Warriors *'YamatoGuru' voices Morro, the Elemental Master of Wind who escaped the Cursed Realm. *'Westificationful' voices Wrayth, a ghost from the Cursed Realm who escapes with Morro. *'Joe Newman' voices Soul Archer, a ghost from the Cursed Realm who escapes with Morro. *Bansha, a ghost from the Cursed Realm who escapes with Morro. She will not have a voice actress in the film. *'Joe Newman' voices Ghoultar, a ghost from the Cursed Realm who escapes with Morro. Nindroids *'Joe Newman' voices General Cryptor, the leader of the Nindroids who serves The Overlord. Sky Pirates *'Joe Newman' voices Flintlocke, a high-ranking Sky Pirate who was second-in-command under Nadakhan. *Dogshank, a Sky Pirate who is a large orange beast. She will not have a voice actress in the film. *Clancee, a Sky Pirate who is a Serpentine hybrid. He will not have a voice actor in the film. *Doubloon, a Sky Pirate who is a thief-turned-monster. He will not have a voice actor, as he cannot speak. Various Nindroids, Anacondrai Cultists and ghosts are set to appear in the film. The roles of Eyezor and Wrayth have yet to be officially cast. Other Antagonists *Krazi, the Skulkin warrior of lightning, who is briefly seen in the background during the film's Super Bowl TV Spot. New Protagonists *'Joe Newman' voices Ronin, a mercenary and bounty hunter who operates out of the city of Stiix. *'Lego Zebra' voices Griffin Turner, the Elemental Master of Speed and a close ally of Karlof. *'Joe Newman' voices Karlof, the Elemental Master of Metal and a close ally of Griffin Turner. *'Lego Zebra' voices Cyrus Borg, the founder of Borg Industries. He will have a minor role in the film. *'Charlie Hopkinson' voices Ford, an old war hero who is a member of Delmar's team. Hopkinson, a popular voice impressionist on YouTube, was approached by Scott to take on the role. *'JumboGauge' voices Brandt, a trooper and member of Delmar's team. *'Joe Newman' voices Zoltar, a soldier in the Venomari Tribe who defected and allied with Delmar's team. *'Brent Miller' voices Brent, a young man and a member of Delmar's team. Brent Miller voices Zane in the Ninjago TV show, and was cast in the role in September 2016 after Scott won his voice actor contest. Various troopers allied with Delmar are set to debut in the film, although their names are currently unconfirmed. The first Elemental Master of Earth, who appeared in the teaser trailer for Rise of the Great Devourer, will appear at some point, as confirmed by the teaser trailer. Several other original Elemental Masters are set to appear as well. Vehicles These are the vehicles that have been confirmed to appear in the film at some point. *''Destiny's Bounty'' - A colossal aerial ship designed to fly and float in water. Once manned by Captain Soto and his crew before the Ninja took the vessel, Destiny's Bounty was shredded apart by the Great Devourer at the end of the second film. In the time since, the Bounty has been entirely rebuilt, with a far more advanced design. The vehicle was custom-built by Scott to resemble its appearance in season four and beyond. It is the only one of the Ninjas' vehicles from the previous films that is confirmed to return for this installment. *Roto Jet - A jet bomber with a series of laser blasters at the front of it. The Roto Jet has enough firepower to swiftly take out many ground adversaries and their vehicles; the vehicle is flown by Cole. *Proto Sam-X - Also known as "Nya's car"; a small all-terrain vehicle equipped with a large missile launcher. *D.B. Express - Also known as the "DB X"; a large fortified vehicle built to transport weapons and allies in harsh climates or situations. It is often used by the Ninja, especially when Destiny's Bounty was not in service. *Bladecopter - A large stone-built jet designed by the Anacondrai Cultists. Loosely inspired by the Serpentine's Rattlecopters, the cultists produced numerous Bladecopters as a means of swiftly traversing Ninjago's vast jungles. *Condrai Crusher - A stone-built vehicle with a snake-like head and spinning stone blades, also designed by the Anacondrai Cultists. The Crushers are able to quickly clear an area of debris and adversaries, cutting through anything in their paths. *Jungle Raider - A stone-built all-terrain buggy, also designed by the Anacondrai Cultists. Faster than Condrai Crushers, the Jungle Raider's suspension system, large tires, and overall small and compact build allow it to zoom through Ninjago's jungles with ease. *Destructoid - A tank-like vehicle with a sword and sawblade, utilized by the Nindroids. *Fangpyre Truck - A large green truck built by the Fangpyre Tribe to assault Jamanakai Village in the first film. A crashed Rattlecopter was briefly seen in the film's teaser trailer. Production The film was planned as far back as 2013, when Scott began pre-production for the series' first film. He intended to make the series a trilogy, though at the time he had few ideas for the third film. At this point, Ninjago only had two seasons and the lore wasn't as expansive as it would be three years later. The film was officially announced on July 3, 2016, as the third and final installment in the series. JTH Studios stated he is interested in reprising his role as Lloyd if he's expected to, and was the first person confirmed for the cast. On July 4, Jack Morris and Westificationful, who voiced Cole and Zane in the first two films, confirmed they're returning for the film. On July 5, Biopower 1000 (now known as Bio21) was confirmed to be reprising his roles as Acidicus and Samuel Mercer from the second film, and GarnettFox was confirmed to be returning as Skalidor. The same day, Daniel Poulter was confirmed to be reprising his roles as Lucas and Snike. On July 6, AckarProductions5 was confirmed to be reprising his role as Sensei Wu, and he is also interested in auditioning for new characters as well. On August 6, 1P Entertainment (formerly 1tjmac12) was confirmed to be reprising his roles as Garmadon and Pythor in the film. On August 13, OonieandCacola was confirmed to be reprising his role as Jay, and on August 22, FireStar97Studios was confirmed to be reprising his roles as Ben Delmar and Fangtom. Returning/New Major Roles On September 1, Scott announced that he is entering a contest for Brent Miller, who voices Zane in the Ninjago TV show, to have a role in the film. Before the contest ended, Scott garnered nearly 70 supporters, including his personal friends, members of the film's cast, viewers of the series and other random supporters. On September 15, Brent Miller announced the winners of the contest, with Scott winning the vote for the smaller channel, and DTinaglia Studios winning the vote for the larger channel. Throughout October and November, Scott worked to rewrite the opening scenes of the film, feeling they were poorly written and boring, and that they needed to set up the film's new main characters better. Filming officially began on November 11. On November 28, Joe Newman was confirmed to have joined the film's cast as Clouse, Cryptor, Karlof and Flintlocke. On December 1, NinjaBoys was confirmed to be returning as Lizaru, Spitta and Bytar from the second film. On December 28, YamatoGuru was cast as the voice actor for Morro. On December 29, Ryan Bowman was confirmed to be returning as Kai and Vladimir for the film. Ryan was confirmed for the cast back in July, though his return wasn't officially announced until this date. On December 30, Rob O'Dwyer was cast as the voice actor for Master Chen. The following day, he was confirmed to be voicing The Overlord, replacing 1P Entertainment, who voiced him in the second film. Scriptwriting/New Roles On January 27, Scott confirmed that Soul Archer, Bansha and Ghoultar will also appear in the film. Filming continued on February 9 to shoot a snow scene for the film. On February 19, Ryan Bowman, who voiced Kai and Vladimir in the first and second films, was dropped from the film's cast after being expelled from Scott's films. Kai was set to be recast, while the status of Vladimir's character was left unclear. On March 12, Scott confirmed that the film's script is on the verge of completion. On March 13, it was confirmed that the role of Vladimir Dubrovky will be cut from the film due to Ryan Bowman's expulsion. The film's script was officially completed on March 14. Filming also took place on March 18 and 19 to complete the film's snow scenes. Also on March 19, Charlie Hopkinson, a popular voice actor/impersonator and YouTuber, was cast in the role of Ford. The same day, the film's teaser trailer was released; it gained 1,300 views within three days of its release. On March 22, Scott confirmed that the character of Hibiki was cut from the film's script during the revisions process. Hibiki was set to be Ronin's right-hand man in the film; the role was not cast before the character was cut. On March 26, Lego Zebra was officially cast as Griffin Turner and Cyrus Borg. On March 31, JumboGauge was cast in the role of Brandt, a trooper allied with Delmar and his team. On April 2, Luna Fett was cast in the role of Nya. On April 3, the role of Kai was officially recast, as Matt Howell was confirmed to be voicing the character. Filming continued into April, though the schedule was very tight. On April 21, Scott confirmed that 1P Entertainment was recast in the role of The Overlord, supplanting Rob O'Dwyer in the role. Scott stated that he loved O'Dwyer's work on the part, but ultimately felt the need to bring 1P Entertainment back so as to create a sense of continuity with the character. On April 22, Joe Newman was confirmed to be voicing Zoltar, Zugu, Soul Archer and Ghoultar in the film. On July 18, JobbytheHong, a satirical toy reviewer on YouTube, was cast as Kapau and Chope. Scott had found Jobby's channel only a few weeks before casting him. Realizing that his voice would fit the characters perfectly, he proposed the roles to Jobby, who auditioned and got both parts. Filming continued into September, though the schedule was still strict due to Scott's time in college. The same month, Brent Miller recorded his lines for the project. Filming also continued into October 2017, by which point filming was well over halfway complete. Upon the release of the film's first TV spot, it was confirmed that Captain Soto will return for the film, and that JTH Studios will reprise the role. Filming would also take place on November 21, with the official trailer being released on November 22. On November 23, Daniel Poulter expressed uncertainty about returning to voice Lucas and Snike, as he no longer has a mic, but Scott told him to record with a camera instead. Daniel is very busy and thus may record his lines sooner than others. On January 12, 2018, Scott expressed his uncertainty over Collector1100 reprising his role as Dareth, as he hadn't contacted him in a few months. Collector voiced the character in the first two films and was set to return for the third installment. On January 25, Scott finally made contact with Collector, who said he "isn't really interested" in reprising his role as Dareth in the film. Scott tried convincing him to return for the film, although he ignored most of Scott's requests. The role has yet to be recast. On February 4, a forty second 'Super Bowl trailer' was released for the film. On February 15, Westificationful was cast as Eyezor and Wrayth in the film. On February 18, all the cast members' lines were completely organized, and are expected to be sent out soon. The same day, he received from Garnettfox and JobbytheHong that they're still part of the cast, as Scott hadn't managed to contact them for several months. Music The film will feature music by Jay Vincent and Michael Kramer, the composers of the Ninjago TV show. Scott says that their works will have a tremendous presence in the film, which was made possible by the fact that Jay and Michael have released so much music in the time since the second film's completion. The scores from seasons one to five of the TV show will be heavily featured in the film. Filming Incidents *On July 16, 2017, Scott slipped in mud and dropped one of the LEGO models being used for the scene; it set shattered apart and he was unable to put it back together. Despite this, he still managed to use it in the scene, though details on this are unrevealed to prevent spoilers. **Later that afternoon, one of the lens in Scott's glasses popped out, and he lost a screw that held them in. Since he was deep in the woods, as well as 3/4 of the way through filming the scene, Scott opted to finish filming by keeping one of his eyes closed to preserve his vision and see what was being filmed. He was successful in completing the scene, and his glasses were also fixed. *On September 3, Scott was filming a scene on a fallen tree with a long, thin crack running across it. While filming, the Garmadon minifigure slid into the crack and was lost, and Scott couldn't reach in to get the minifigure. Several hours later, he used an axe to slightly open the tree, which allowed him to stick a twig inside and pull the minifigure up enough to reclaim it. The scene was completed the next day. *On September 4, a group of kids found the set for Jamanakai Village and wrecked it, leaving everything covered in mud, wood all over the place, and the giant "electrical barrel" pushed into the creek. Scott was initially unsure of how or when he would fix the damage, given that he's busy with college and has little time in the first place. Scott has filmed many scenes since then, and later found the time to clean the set on October 28. Scott began filming on the set in November without any issues. *Scott had filmed (and completed) two major scenes at a reservoir that was overgrown with cattails. The location briefly appeared at the beginning of the first film and it returns in this film. On October 7, he found that all the cattails were removed and replaced with a large expanse of hay, which happened sometime in the last two weeks. The reservoir was overgrown and, after several years, cleared out entirely. Nevertheless, the scenes there were completed the previous month, and filming for that day continued as planned. *On October 28, Scott found that the set for the Slither Pit had sustained damage over the last few months. A small tree had collapsed over part of the ravine, while the wooden bridge running over the pit is rather unstable, as it wore out over time. Scott still filmed at the location, and left much of the damage as it was. Trivia *Due to personal changes in his life, this will be Jack Morris's last time in which he voices Cole Hence, the series' main protagonist. *As shown in the film's trailers, the Ninja will wear their Tournament, Deepstone and Destiny (season six) robes at some point in the film. *Lloyd is set to keep his original head mold in the film, which appeared in the sets for season one. In the season three sets and beyond, Lloyd gained a new head mold that bears little resemblance to his appearance in the TV show. Scott kept the original head mold as he didn't want to create such a big and unnecessary change. *The film is set to have over forty characters with different voices - exceeding the voice cast of the second film, which had around thirty-six voiced characters. *ToaGresh300, Ryan Bowman, Collector1100 and Russell Parkinson, who appeared in the first two films, and Abby Pincus, who appeared in the second film, will not return for this installment. *With the release of this film, Jack Morris, AckarProductions5, Westificationful, OonieandCacola, JTH Studios, FireStar97Studios, Bio21 and Cameron Morris will have appeared in all three films of the series. *Garnettfox, Daniel Poulter and 1P Entertainment, all of whom debuted in the second film, are set to return for this installment. *While fixing the Jamanakai Village set on October 28, 2017, Scott recovered several K'NEX pieces from the electric tower in Rise of the Great Devourer - two years after filming the structure's collapse in October 2015. Scott found part of the tower's platform and the red gear that held the chain up at the top of the tower. *Vladimir Dubrovky, the Russian soldier seen in the first two films, will not return for this film due to Ryan Bowman's expulsion. However, the soldiers that he led in the previous installments will return. *1tjmac12, who voiced Garmadon, The Overlord and Pythor in the previous film, reprises the roles for this film. In September 2017, he changed his username to 1P Entertainment, and will thus be credited as such. *The Garmadon minifigure used in the film was almost lost when Scott dropped it through a thin crevice in a fallen tree. He managed to reclaim it several hours later. This almost marked the first time where a minifigure was lost in a Ninjago film's production. *Jack Morris, AckarProductions5, OonieandCacola, Westificationful and JTH Studios, who voice Cole, Sensei Wu, Jay, Zane and Lloyd, respectively, have appeared in all three of the series' installments. Originally, Cole and Lloyd had different voice actors before the first film was released, but the roles were recast for the project before filming began. **GreshLord and CharCharStudios101 voiced Zane and Kai, respectively, in the first two parts of Ninjago, but the roles were later recast, with Westificationful voicing Zane and Ryan Bowman voicing Kai. Ryan was set to voice Kai in the third film, but was dropped from the cast and replaced with Matt Howell. *The character of Hibiki was originally set to be in the film. Hibiki was a character from the Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin video game, which was confirmed to be non-canon to the main Ninjago storyline. Despite this, Scott still chose to adapt the character and depict him as Ronin's right-hand man, but ultimately cut him from the script due to his lack of purpose in the story. *Joe Newman, who voices major characters Clouse and Cryptor in the film, recommended Rob O'Dwyer to Scott. Rob would be cast as Master Chen. Joe also recommended YamatoGuru to Scott, and in turn he would be cast as Morro. *Scott has confirmed that Sensei Wu will still be called Sensei Wu throughout the film. For cultural reasons, in the TV show the character is referred to as "Master Wu" starting with "Day of the Departed" and "The Hands of Time". Scott doesn't find the title offensive or stereotypical, believing that Sensei Wu is a just character with strong morals. Category:Ninjago Film Series Category:Ninjago: Age of the Golden Master Category:2016 Storyline Category:Upcoming Films Category:2017 Storyline Category:2017 Category:2018 Storyline Category:2018